Japanese editorials rap Hosokawa's surprise resignation

TOKYO (Kyodo): Major Japanese dailies on Saturday expressed indignation at Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa's surprise announcement to resign, saying he betrayed the public and was irresponsible for leaving office so abruptly.

Editorials in the nation's big dailies -- The Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the Sankei Shimbun, the Tokyo Shimbun and the Yomiuri Shimbun -- said Hosokawa's resignation could not be helped.

But all the papers, except the Yomiuri, credited Hosokawa, 56, with helping to end the Liberal Democratic Party's 38-year rule and of carrying out such major tasks as political reform, the opening of Japan's rice market and of accounting for Japan's wartime aggression.

His stubborn rejection of the opposition's request for a witness's testimony in money scandals, combined with fresh allegations about his personal finances, ''gave the impression of serious suspicions about the prime minister's fund-raising,'' said the Asahi, the most liberal of the six dailies.

Amid allegations over his personal involvement in the scandals, the Asahi said, ''It is impossible for the prime minister to run Japan-maru (the ship of Japan) while confining himself to his office at his official residence.'' Hosokawa is a former Asahi Shimbun reporter.

The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest, said, ''It is truly ironic that Hosokawa, who had pledged to clean up scandal-tainted politics, was himself toppled over suspicions surrounding his 100 million yen loan'' from the major trucking firm Sagawa Kyubin.

Hosokawa's abrupt decision to quit ''betrayed the public's confidence and impaired Japan's credibility in the international community,'' the Yomiuri said. ''It is inevitable that Hosokawa will be labeled as irresponsible.''

The Mainichi Shimbun, another national daily, wondered ''how many people accept Prime Minister Hosokawa's explanation for resigning?''

''It is obvious that the prime minister's direct reason for his resignation was the 'Hosokawa allegations' themselves, which had dogged the Diet,'' the Mainichi said in its editorial entitled ''Prime Minister Hosokawa's departure cannot be helped.''

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, an economic daily, also criticized Hosokawa for being ''irresponsible'' by suddenly leaving office without winning the passage of the fiscal 1994 budget program.

''You too, 'champion of reform,''' said the Tokyo Shimbun's editorial headline. The daily said Hosokawa's resignation is ''natural'' because he had deepened mistrust in politics.

The Sankei Shimbun, the most conservative among the six, lamented that another premier has fallen to a scandal and said such frequent resignations of Japanese premiers are eroding ''our country's international trust and are a tragedy for the people.''

In their editorials, the Japanese dailies called for an early parliamentary passage of the new budget and urged the incoming government to deftly deal with outstanding issues such as Japan- U.S. framework trade talks, North Korea's alleged nuclear weapons program and Japan's role in UN peacekeeping operations.

The Asahi said, however, it is opposed to the return to power of the largest opposition LDP in its present form, referring to a series of construction industry scandals involving former Construction Minister Kishiro Nakamura and other national and local LDP lawmakers.

Said the Yomiuri editorial, ''All parties should work together to avoid causing any political crisis stemming from Hosokawa's resignation, and to solve urgent tasks at home and abroad.''

30